


The Thing About Julian Alfred Pankratz

by merthurlocked



Series: The Pankratz Boy [2]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: I am so sorry for this, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Original Character(s), Work In Progress, a bit of the pankratz family background, and i have given him a mean one, but it turns out i am mean, but jaskier needs a family, but that is okay because as we know he finds his own family, character buildup, only slightly, so all will be well for our little bard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22887799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merthurlocked/pseuds/merthurlocked
Summary: Here's the thing about Julian Alfred Pankratz,He was born, not out of love, not out of need, not out of want, but out of a moment of urgency and despair.Julian Alfred Pankratz was not wanted by either his mother or father.There was no need for him to be an heir as that was Bohdan and Herman's role, and even Florentyna had no need of him.For he was born a boy, and not a girl, like she had wished.*See end of notes for information on their names.
Series: The Pankratz Boy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1644877
Comments: 9
Kudos: 104





	The Thing About Julian Alfred Pankratz

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you readers, hope you enjoy this instalment.
> 
> Next time I hope to actually introduce Geralt and get to know Jaskier a bit more.

Here's the thing about Julian Alfred Pankratz,

He was born, not out of love, not out of need, not out of want, but out of _a moment of_ _urgency and despair._

His mother already had three beautiful children, the first _Bohdan Adalbert Pankratz_ , he was perfect in every way that a first child is. He was exciting to hold and to stand by and to watch as he peacefully slept in his cot. His father, Alfons Herman Pankratz, a man not known for showing his emotions, shed a tear the day his son was born.

For he knew that this dear boy would be everything that a Pankratz stood for, he knew that this boy would follow in his father’s footsteps and he would make him and the rest of their family proud. He was just what Alfons needed to carry on the lineage of the noble Pankratz. With his perfectly coiled, ebony coloured hair, and his wide green-eyed stare. He truly would one day rule proper and fierce like his father.

His mother as any new mother would be, was infatuated with the little pale-faced, beautiful baby boy. She was in love with his perfectly curled hair, his round chubby cheeks, she even loved hearing his little screams and cries because it meant that her boy was _strong_ and _full of_ _life._ She wanted another as soon as she had birthed her little Bohdan, her beautiful gift from the Gods, because surely, she could create something just as divine as her first.

Alfons agreed readily. He knew in order for his lineage to survive it was better if he had another to take up the place if something awful were to happen to the first. He wanted not for the joy and love of a new baby but the necessity of another life. 

Yet, the day _Herman Aleksander Pankratz_ was born, just one year after their first boy, Alfons was able to be proud once again. He had two boys, both strong and fierce and now he had his second string. Both boys would be taught the importance of their title, Viscount de Lettenhove, both would grow up under the stern tutelage of their fathers’ wise words and both would learn the importance of ruling with a firm, steady hand.

These two boys were enough for both parents at first. Alfons was happy, he had two boys and he could teach them the ways of men, teach them the gifts his own father bestowed upon him. He did not need for anything else. His name and title were safe. His name would carry on. His own father, Gods rest his soul, would be _proud._

But three years after the birth of her second son, Henryka Bogna Pankratz wanted another. She longed for a beautiful, baby girl. She had grown up with fantasies and fairy tales of having her own little girl when she was old enough, and although those fantasies and imaginations had long since disappeared, the need and want for a baby girl of her own had stayed. So, she asked her husband, and although he was not as keen on the idea, he did understand the added desirability a baby girl would bring to his family. It would round off a perfect family, and if it would keep his wife silent for a bit longer, if it would keep her busy and away from the business he and his fellow Lords and Viscounts were conducting, then it was only an added bonus.

Four years after their first child, _Florentyna Ada Pankratz_ was born. Another beautiful edition to the Pankratz family. She was born with a headful of dark, raven hair, and she perfectly matched her brothers in appearance and in spirit. All three children of the Pankratz had been born screaming, squealing and loud.

_So very loud._

But like the first time, although slightly older, Henryka was able to muster up a smile for this loud, crying baby girl, because once again she had birthed a strong willed, healthy baby. She was happy and admiring of this gorgeous raven-haired delight. Henryka finally understood perhaps, what Alfons had felt when he had held his sons for the first time. Knowing that it would be her, that bestows her knowledge of the world of women on to her. It would be her that would choose the most suitable clothing for her, it would be up to her to choose what lessons in etiquette and decorum would first be taught. It would be up to her to produce a little lady that their people would look upon in awe and admiration. And whose style they would emulate.

Henryka and Alfons Pankratz were happy with their perfect family. Things were going well in their little patch of land. Alfons was a capable leader and was determined to stay above those who might bring him down. He knew how to keep appearances up and how to play to the weakness of others. He longed for more notability, for a stronger, more powerful position in society. And thus, his education for his sons began to follow that path, for if he in his own time might not gain the added titles, his eldest son certainly would. He started creating a path for his sons to follow.

This path was strict and stern. This path was to be taken seriously. This path was their only way up in the world. The two Pankratz boys were brought into line, they were brought up to rule and to be feared. Bohdan was the most easily influenced, the most readily acceptable of his path. He witnessed how his father put painstaking hours into his business, witnessed this and _admired it_. He would make his father proud. He accepted his role as the first born eagerly.

Herman, who became better known for his second name, Aleksander later on, loved his father, loved his mother, loved his older brother and his youngest sister, but he learned early on that although his father loved him back, in his own way, he was _not_ the first born son. He was not wanted as much as Bohdan was, and therefore, he had a little more leeway in what he would do with his life. He accepted that he must have the same education as his brother, learn to navigate the same world of politics, learn the rich history of their lineage and their land. Learned how he would be second in command, and the first to take up the stand if anything were to happen to Bohdan.

Yet this did not stop him from training harder with a sword, from reading up on the many and the bloody battles that had come before his time. He greedily read up on anything and everything to do with battles and knights and kingdoms, and he longed wistfully to be allowed to one day go to war and earn his meddles and become something his father could be proud of. He knew he would get no pride from his father if he were to stay in the shadows of his elder brother. He would forge his own path and make his parents proud of him.

Florentyna on the other hand, stayed quietly by her mother’s side, dutifully and gracefully accepting her role as the would-be marital bargain of the family. She would learn that her life was already drawn out for her, that her father already had an idea of to whom she would marry and what alliance would be most beneficial to their family. She would learn of duty and honour, and as a young girl she would think this to be a most wonderful thing to do. A most wonderful gift. It is only later that she’ll start to question whether this is the right path for her. Whether she actually is _okay_ with having no proper say in who she marries. Whether she is fine with marrying not for love but for duty.

She’ll learn that speaking her mind is not acceptable. She’ll learn that her father has no care for what she wants. She’ll learn that she is to do as she is told, that she will fulfil any and _all_ of her father’s wishes. She’ll learn what it feels like to be striked, and she will learn what it feels like to run to her mother for help, only to see her own fear reflected in her mother’s eyes. She will learn what acceptance is, as she will learn to accept her life, _her duty,_ and she will learn to honour it with pride.

But for now, she is five, and she is her mother’s pride and joy and Florentyna wants a baby sister.

Her mother, Henryka, now older, and slower and perhaps harsher, knows she cannot conceive again. But she had loved watching her little daughter grow and she thinks she likes the idea of seeing another beautiful girl grow beside her. And for now, whilst her heart still has kindness in it, she will look down at her daughter, with her carefully arranged, raven curls and her angelic green-eyed wistful stare, and know that if she can, she will do this for her.

And so _Julian Alfred Pankratz_ was born.

But here’s the thing about this last and final edition to the Pankratz family. He was not born by the normal means of conceivement. He was born out of desperate magic and desperate pleas. He was a shock to Alfons Herman Pankratz, and he was a shock to Henryka too. Henryka had been informed not long after having Florentyna that she would not be able to have more children, she had accepted this and was fine with it. She had her set of three and needed no more.

But she had not known the kind of hold that her daughter would have on her. She did not think that one of her children could make her want to do something that she herself would not normally want to do. Her daughter had asked for a sister and so Henryka, pulled in by the girls charms, had accepted this and gone about finding a way to conceive.

 _Perhaps later_ , this strange behaviour shown by Henryka would be looked into more, perhaps this search would lead those to the more dreary and darker parts of the Pankratz family history. Perhaps it would show a curse that had been dealt upon their family. A curse that would make those within the family become greedy and less tolerable, less likened by their people. Perhaps this curse would start to show the cracks in the family’s walls, start to show the lies held within. Perhaps this curse would lead to their downfall, like it intended.

But first,

Her search led her to the darkest laws of the land. And her name and reputation helped to grant her access. Her search for the magic that would enable her to conceive led her to a vial, a vial that glistened, beckoned her forward, called out her name and drove her to steel and greedily down the contents. 

This little vial that glistened was full of Eleven Magic and thus would make her fourth and _final_ child special.

_Very special indeed._

Julian Alfred Pankratz was not wanted by either his mother or father. There was need for him to be an heir as that was Bohdan and Herman's role, and six-year-old Florentyna, also had no need of him. For he was born a boy, not a girl, like she had wished.

The birth of Julian had exhausted his mother and made her weaker. She saw that this baby boy brought no joy to anyone and especially not to her dearest daughter. She had paid the price heavily of using magic that she herself was never granted, and she suffered for it. She saw now that her greed had bestowed upon her family something of a curse.

A third boy that was sickly pale, paler in contrast to his siblings, startling bright blue eyes, and with hair two shades lighter. But it was his ears that caused Henryka the most concern. They were slightly pointy compared to her other three children, not absurdly so, not in such a way that people would stop and stare, and not even in a way that Alfons (thank the Gods) would notice.

But pointy enough for _her_ to notice, and for her to dislike.

* * *

So here's the thing about Julian.

He was never really given a chance. From the beginning he was born without a love for him.

His first few years of infancy were met by cold shoulders, and glares, he was held and soothed back to sleep, not by his mother, but a nanny that really only did what her job title allowed and what meagre earnings would pay for. There was no love or compassion to be found from her.

And Julian? He learned early on that his screams or cries would not gain him the attention of his mother like his siblings cries had done. Instead it would earn him a glare and an uncaring rock back to sleep, by someone other than his own kin. This made the baby boy quieter, he would whimper helplessly instead, and stare doe-eyed at his sister whenever she snuck into the nursery to catch a glimpse of the baby she had asked for, but who had turned out to not be what she had wanted. 

_And perhaps maybe one day she will grow to love him, grow to understand that you cannot choose whether a boy or girl is born, that it is no one's fault and certainly not poor Julian's. But that is not today._

Julian will grow up in a harsh, uncaring, unloving world. Yet he will not grow up in a world _devoid of love_. Only in a world devoid of _love for him._

He will witness love and its many forms in his childhood, but he himself will not properly receive it. He will witness his father being loving and prideful of his two eldest sons, whilst he himself will only be shunned and ignored. He will witness his weak mothers love for his sister and watch her descend slowly into madness. Watch her health deteriorate and hear her breathless gasps ask for her only love, her only sweet thing, her dutiful beloved daughter.

He will witness all of this growing up, and he will question it and, in his weakest, most darkest moments he will wonder _why him? What did he ever do to the Gods to deserve this?_ But there will be no answer, and instead, he will learn to shoulder his pain, and regardless of the path that has been forged already for him, he will choose his own path.

He will choose to love where others have chosen not too. He will love his family, even if they have chosen not to love him. He will do what he thinks pleases them.

For now,

until he learns what pleases _him._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, kudos to you for getting through this trainwreck writing.  
> I'd love you 3000 for any comments :)
> 
> So I went on to a Polish baby name website and picked out these for his family because they sound good and kinda fitted in with my idea of who they are:
> 
> Father- Alfons Herman Pankratz (noble, ready) (solider)
> 
> Mother- Henryka Bogna Pankratz (home ruler) (gods gift)
> 
> Eldest Child- Bohdan Adalbert Pankratz (Gods gift) (intelligent, noble) Bogdan is almost pronounced like Bog-dan 
> 
> Second Child- Herman Aleksander Pankratz (solider) (defender of men) 
> 
> Third Child- Florentyna Ada Pankratz (blooming, flowering) (nobility)
> 
> Youngest Child- Julian Alfred Pankratz (youthful, downy) (elf councel) hmm elfy? interesting...
> 
> Pankratz-  
> expressive, diplomatic, and refined nature, used to wanting the finer things in life.


End file.
